Indonesia's Journey from Independence to the Present Day: Politics, Economics, Society

Indonesia, along with Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, is today one of the so-called "new tigers" of Southeast Asia, having played a prominent role in the establishment of ASEAN. Having gained independence through a national liberation struggle, this large country has followed a complex and contradictory path in its postwar development, from the authoritarian regimes of Sukarno and Suharto to the current transition to democracy, which was set in motion by the Asian financial and economic crisis of 1997-1998. In analyzing these processes, the author examines the growth of the Indonesian economy from 1950 to 2020, highlighting its driving sector-the manufacturing industry. In doing so, he relies primarily on an endogenous Kaldor-type model with a built-in mechanism for technological progress. This general model takes into account not only physical and human capital but also time in its role as the event space of creative economic activity. It is the result of a global economic study covering 131 countries, including Indonesia.